


Postpartum Friendship

by ohhotdans



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Panic Attacks, William mentioned, but only for now!, but only one at the beginning, fox mulder mentioned, maggie scully mentioned, platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:35:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29211231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohhotdans/pseuds/ohhotdans
Summary: When William spends the night at his grandmother's house, Scully completely unravels. Who does she call? Read on friends!I'm hoping this might be a series of short stories focusing on the relationship between Dana Scully and Monica Reyes. For now it's friendship but it might turn into something more. I really like them as a pairing.
Relationships: Monica Reyes & Dana Scully
Kudos: 3





	Postpartum Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> These characters aren't mine but I'd love it if Chris Carter could release them into public domain for me to fix! haha. 
> 
> To me, Monica and Scully are perfect for each other in any sense you wish to interpret! This is currently a friendship story. :)
> 
> I think I might've applied my knowledge of social worker speaking to Monica's dialogue tooo much, but what else did i go to three semesters of social work school for? I think it fits!
> 
> I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!

Shortly after William's birth, Scully was given a mandatory day to herself by her mother. There was no use in protesting, Maggie Scully got what she wanted from her children, and what she wanted was a day to spend time with her grandson. And she thought her daughter could use a break. 

When her mother came to pick William up, Scully felt a little nervous handing his car seat over. William was spending the night as well, her mother had insisted that Dana get some relaxing time and a good night's sleep. What she didn’t know is that Dana’s soul was heavy with emotion and the thought of being without William, or even just alone, sent her into panic mode. She trusted her mother, and truly was exhausted. As the door shut, she began to tremble. Scully hadn’t really gathered a lot of coping skills in regards to stress, and the few she did have were tainted by bad memories from cases. Donnie Pfaster completely took away her desire to take a bath, and Padgett still had her freaked out about running. It was also hard to take a deep breath when Mulder had it ingrained in her head that someone could be coming to hurt her at the sound of every bump or creak in the house. Walking without direction, she ended up in the kitchen pouring herself a glass of wine.

Walking to the living room to sit, she sort of got… stuck. She could feel her feet on the carpet and the glass in her hand. She could hear the silence in a way that hurt. Stuck in a time rift. The thought of alien abduction and time loss quickly passed through her head, and if she wasn’t so scared for some reason, she would’ve laughed. as her breathing sped up, her eyes darted around the room to find something-anything— that could snap her out of it. The phone sat blinking on the side table and before she knew it, Scully was at the phone. Who could she call? There’s no way Mulder, wherever he was, would step foot near her apartment (too obvious, he’d said), and leaving the apartment seemed like the end of the world. Quickly, she dialed the one person she felt might be able to understand. 

“Hello?” Said Monica Reyes. 

“Hi… it’s uh… Agent Scully” she choked back tears she didn’t know were in her. 

“Dana, hi, is everything ok? Are you ok? William?” Monica heard the panic in Dana’s voice and was already looking to grab her things. 

“Yes I’m fine, it’s ok, I’m sorry—“ 

Monica cut her off, “You don’t sound ok, can I come over? Just to do a wellness check. You’re worrying me Dana.”

Scully was shocked at her concern and replied in almost a whisper, “ok Monica”. 

Before hanging up, Monica added “thank you for calling me Dana, I’ll see you soon”. 

Monica had already grabbed her purse and sweater before she even hung up. Her mind was racing with all the bad things that could be happening as she got into her car. Dana sounded terrified, but not in any immediate danger. She would’ve said something different if someone had a gun to her or Williams' head. Oh Jesus, why did she let that image exist! Monica was a very empathetic person. She always felt like she could be a beacon of compassion for people, and she tried her best to live up to that self expectation. As she pulled up on Dana’s street, she sent a little message to whoever is out there in the universe for their safety. Up to the second floor, she walked to Dana’s door and knocked. There was no answer. 

“Dana, are you in there? Are you ok?” Monica asked through the door. Still nothing. 

Monica’s thoughts ran faster. She turned the knob, and it was unlocked. Opening the door, she walked inside to find Dana standing with a glass of wine in one hand and her phone in the other. Closing the door behind her and locking it, Monica slowly walked towards her. 

“Dana?” She said in a low, soft voice. “It’s me, Monica. You called?” 

Dana turned towards Monica, eyes filled with tears and a scared expression on her face. “Hi. I’m fine.” 

Monica sensed something was about to happen. She made eye contact with the clearly distressed Dana Scully and took the glass of wine gently out of her hand to put it on the table. Next she took the phone and hung it up. Turning her attention back to the petrified Dana, Monica went to lightly touch her forearm. With that touch, Dana emotionally collapsed. Huge sobs shook her as she sank into Monica’s arms. Monica held her while she continued to cry. After a while, when things seemed to be letting up, Monica said softly to her 

“I’m going to walk us over to the couch now, and you can tell me what’s going on.” 

A squeaky “mhm” came between the crying, and Monica moved herself and Dana over to the couch where they sat down. Still clutching onto Monica’s sweater sleeve, Dana realized for the first time what was going on. Her sobbing stopped suddenly, and embarrassment washed over her. She pulled away, eyes wide and face turning red. 

“I’m sorry you don’t need to be here I’m fine I promise” Dana said in one breath with tears still streaking down her face. 

Having anticipated this response, Monica replied with, “Dana, I don’t think you’re ok. When I got here you were completely frozen in the spot you called me from. When I got your wine out of your hand and hung up the phone, you completely broke down. You called me for a reason, and I’m glad you did. Let me get you some water and a facecloth. I’ll be right back.” punctuating it with a squeeze of Dana’s hand. 

In awe, Dana’s head hurt. It felt like time had warped. She barely remembered calling Monica, and had a hard time figuring out how she got to the couch. her face was puffy from crying, and her eyes stung with even more tears yet to fall. Monica came back into view with a glass of water and a cool face cloth. 

“I hope this is ok, it’s what I try to remember to get when I break down every once in a while” Monica said with a sweet smile. “And it’s what my mom always got me. Works every time!” That last statement subtly turned her smile to a grimace. 

Dana nodded and sat alternating between drinking water and pressing the face cloth against her face. Monica was sitting next to her, and though normally Dana would expect her to be uncomfortable, Monica looked right at home, though looking concerned, on the couch. 

“Dana, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, but I’d be honored to hear. I really care about you and your well-being. Is there something you want to talk about?” Monica said as she turned her body to face Dana. 

“Monica, I don’t know where to start. I think all of it, my sadness, anger, grief, fear, is coming out right now. I don’t even know why I’m telling you this, but I think you’re the only one I’m ok with seeing me like this. You’d never think I was a bad mother, even though that’s how I feel right now.” Dana said, confidence and control fading with every word. Her breathing was speeding up. 

“Dana, I could never think you are a bad mother. I have seen you give so much love and dedication to William, far more than I myself was shown. You prayed and worked for this miracle baby, and no one else could love a child more than you love William. It will always be that way. I wish you could see that.” Monica slowly and steadily said to Dana so she could hear her, now holding her hands for comfort and emphasis. 

“I let him go with my mom overnight! He’s not with me and that’s dangerous! They might take him and hurt my mother! I can’t lose anyone else. Too much has been taken from me and I… I…” Dana was overtaken by sobs again. “How are there so many tears in me?” 

Monica took Dana into her embrace again, rubbing circles on her back and rocking them. 

“Dana, I’m sure it is extremely difficult to trust anyone after everything you’ve been through. But just for tonight, I’d like you to push Mulder’s paranoia out of your brain. I’ve met your wonderful mother before, and if she is anything like you, William will be safer than any of the government's deepest secrets.” Monica spoke into her hair. 

Dana continued to cry, but seemed to have calmed after what Monica said. It was so hard to push Mulder’s thoughts out of her head because he had become a part of her— so much so that she thought they may have the same thoughts sometimes. But Monica was right. She needed to separate her thoughts from Mulder, even for just one night. And her mother would never let anything happen to William. 

“Dana, do you want to order something to eat? Crying usually takes a lot out of me and makes me very hungry. Is there a medical doctor explanation for that?” Monica asked with a smile. 

“Monica, I cannot think straight enough to answer medical doctor questions right now” she said and returned the smile. “You can order what you like, I’ll eat anything.” 

Monica called a pizza place and ordered the basic cheese. It was going to be here soon. She moved back to the couch and sat down facing Dana. 

“What do you want to do? Movie? TV? Music? Just good old girl talk? I’m game for anything. We could sit here and stare at walls, too, if that’s what you want. I’d be happy to join.” Monica asked genuinely. 

“Well, I think we could turn on the tv and just talk. I don’t think I could really follow a plot right now. Plus, I don’t really know a lot about you, and I’d like to be aware of who the woman who delivered my baby really is.” Scully suggested. 

“Dana, that sounds wonderful” Monica said with a smile and excitement behind her eyes. “What would you like to know?” 

They chatted on, only breaking for Monica to receive the pizza at the door. As they ate and sipped on the wine from the bottle Dana had opened earlier, Monica talked about living in Mexico City, being adopted, her days at Brown, her favorite music and movies, dancing at jazz clubs, her time at the FBI so far, New Orleans, being bisexual, and doing peyote in the desert. Dana was shocked throughout all the fun stories she told. They laughed at the silly things, but Dana could see in Monica’s eyes that there was something else about her past laying under the surface. That was for another day, though. She didn’t want to talk about it. 

“Dana, now that I’ve spilled my guts, anything interesting about you?” Monica asked as she was doodling on a notepad. 

Dana went on about her life traveling around with her navy family, the strict rules at home and acts of rebellion she committed to rebel against them, her sister Melissa, her life as a party girl in college (met with a gasp and a “no way!”), how her size makes her great a keg stands, her secret girlfriends of the past, and her sweet dog Queequeg. 

As it got dark, it began to rain. Really rain. Monica and Dana were both getting drowsy. The wine they had been drinking this whole time delivered them to giggly status and not physically sick status. 

“Monica, thank you for being such a wonderful friend. I really appreciate it soooooo so much” Dana proclaimed with a smile as they were sitting next to each other on the couch again, a similar image to earlier but a lot happier. 

“Right back at youuu Dana!” Monica said as she yawned. 

“Don’t go home. It’s rainy and you’re tipsy and it’s late.” Dana said in an alarmed tone. 

“Ok.” Monica whispered “goodnight Dayyyyna. Love youuuuuu” 

Dana laughed at the way Monica said “youuuuuuu”. It reminded her of the whale noises she made in that abandoned building in that ghost town where she had given birth to William. She thought that Monica was so crazy. But now she sort of thinks she might be the most sane. 

Monica realized she was drunk. She thought of herself as a “medium weight” in terms of drinking, but apparently not tonight. things were shifting side to side. 

“Enigmatic Dr Dana Scully, where do I sleep?” Monica asked. 

Seeing how clearly wasted Monica was, Dana wrapped her arm around her and pulled her towards her bedroom. Sitting her down on her bed, Dana said, 

“Here.” 

Monica looked shocked and protested “noooo! I can’t that’s rude!” 

Dana pulled down a sheet and Monica looked. At the sheet. Back at Dana. And then got under the covers. She looked up at Dana and said

“Where are you though?” 

“I’ll be next to you, I’m not sleeping on the couch. Don’t try anything!”she said jokingly. Monica giggled until she fell asleep. 

As Dana got into her pajamas and slipped under the blanket, she heard Monica’s even breaths. The same ones she had heard earlier during her emotional crisis. Turning off the light, she laid down and got a good night's sleep.


End file.
